Snow finally arrives with little disruption

Saturday

Jan 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Winter precipitation finally fell on Davidson County on Thursday night, but the county avoided any major problems, thankfully. No serious accidents and few power outages were reported. Davidson County and Thomasville City school students already were scheduled to be out of class as the first semester ended, so no makeup days were needed. Lexington City Schools wasn't as fortunate, as the snow forced classes to be cancelled Friday, the last day of first-semester exams for high school students.

Winter precipitation finally fell on Davidson County on Thursday night, but the county avoided any major problems, thankfully. No serious accidents and few power outages were reported. Davidson County and Thomasville City school students already were scheduled to be out of class as the first semester ended, so no makeup days were needed. Lexington City Schools wasn't as fortunate, as the snow forced classes to be cancelled Friday, the last day of first-semester exams for high school students.Davidson County often finds itself on the borderline when it comes to winter precipitation, and Thursday's storm brought higher amounts of snow to the eastern and southern areas. Many residents viewed it as a perfect winter storm: It brought enough snow to enjoy first thing Friday morning, but then sunshine and warming temperatures quickly caused it to melt. An old wife's tale says a snowfall accompanied by thunder — which happened Thursday — means more snow will fall in a week, so keep an eye on the weather forecast.The Davidson County Sheriff's Office showed it's serious about enforcing a court decision regarding sweepstakes businesses. Deputies issued citations to employees at at least three sweepstakes businesses this week after the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a 2010 law that banned machines, devices or computers used for sweepstakes games. Some of the businesses thought they had made changes that put them into compliance with the law and court decision. But the issue remains murky right now, and they certainly run a risk of further enforcement action if they continue to operate.The Lexington City Council made a wise decision in its selection of a new grant administrator. The council picked Stephen F. Austin over two other candidates, Hobbs, Upchurch & Associates and Carolina Governmental Services, owned by Michael Walser. Walser faced accusations of wrongdoing while with Hobbs, Upchurch, so choosing Austin provides the city with some insurance of not being associated with a firm facing scrutiny. State regulators may ultimately clear Walser and Hobbs, Upchurch, but the city can't take a risk of possibly losing five ongoing Community Development Block Grants.The revitalization of Lexington's Depot District took another step forward Monday when the city council approved a design for a multimodal station. The station would reside along South Railroad Street between East Third and Fourth avenues and hopefully be the site of an Amtrak stop in the near future. The district offers the potential to invigorate the downtown area with new development, so picking the design marks another milestone in the ongoing project.